Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Whither Turkey?

Bad news from Turkey via the BBC today. A Kurdish politician Ahmet Turk has been sentenced to 6 months in jail for referring to Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan as "Mr Ocalan". Apparently using Mr is a sign of respect for Mr Ocalan, who I don't know enough about to make a judgment call on. In any case, the use of Mr is a pretty standard thing, which usually doesn't make much claim about the person being referred to.

All of this of course is prevaricating before dealing with the main issue. This is of course a massive violation of Mr Turks right to freedom of speech. Mr Turk has the right to respect whoever he wants, and to speak about other people in any manner he sees fit. 6 months in jail for saying Mr Ocalan is outrageous.

End PostWriting time: 28 minutes (I was a little distracted)Time since last post: about half an hourCurrent media: Cowboy Bebop